Secondly, I shall be dead;
Lastly, safely buried.”
In Northamptonshire, a belief exists that if an Apple-tree blooms after the fruit is ripe, it surely portends death:—
“A bloom upon the Apple-tree when the Apples are ripe,
Is a sure termination to somebody’s life.”
In Devonshire, it is considered very unlucky to plant a bed of Lilies of the Valley, as the person who does this will in all probability die before twelve months have expired; and in the same county, a plentiful season for Hazel-nuts is believed to portend unusual mortality: hence the saying—
“Many Nits [Nuts],
Many pits [graves].”
Sloes are also sometimes associated with this portent, as another version of the rhyme runs—
“Many Slones [Sloes], many groans,